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I guess maybe being in the Diocese of Wichita and Mid-America under
Bishop BASIL makes me a little more sanguine about our spiritual maturity.

Great post, Kosta.

I would just like to dwell on the particular point that renders the whole thing laughable and preposterous. She admits that "...the Romanians in Malainitsa might have broken some formal legal provisions concerning the need for an approval...".
Might have?! Well, they obviously did go against the law. During Miloshevich's reign, they probably would've gotten away with it. Not today. Serbia (especially the bigger cities) has a huge problem with the so-called "wild construction" (rampant illegal const.) and it was about time the Government did something about it. For example, there was this guy who had built a family home atop a residential building in downtown Belgrade! I kid you not!

There is no way the permit was denied on the basis of ethnicity. That is preposterous. There are dozens of Romanian churches across the Serbian northeast (especially in Banat) and one more church -- an Orthodox one, at that! --- wouldn't hurt anybody. For Christ's sake, Serbia (its taxpayers, actually) subsidizes every religion on its territory! And this is the thanks Serbia gets. Imagine if Serbia followed the example of the Western states and cut off all the financial support to the religious/cultural/ethnic/minority groups living in Serbia. I can't imagine what would happen.

Furthermore, "...such a requirement for them is unreasonable because nobody in the village was ever demanded to obtain such an approval for a private building, as it is usually the case in the countryside."

Now, if there's a need for a Romanian church in the village, I bet there's a large number/percentage of Romanians living there. Have they ever had a problem with the local zoning commission? The above paragraph says they have not. Case closed, as far as I am concerned.

Imagine if everybody started building whatever they wanted, wherever they wanted.

These people should learn to respect the laws of the country they live in and get over themselves. And not just the Romanians -- everybody who lives there! I am sick of these yahoos whining about having to respect the law.

Great post, Kosta.

I would just like to dwell on the particular point that renders the whole thing laughable and preposterous. She admits that "...the Romanians in Malainitsa might have broken some formal legal provisions concerning the need for an approval...".
Might have?! Well, they obviously did go against the law. During Miloshevich's reign, they probably would've gotten away with it. Not today. Serbia (especially the bigger cities) has a huge problem with the so-called "wild construction" (rampant illegal const.) and it was about time the Government did something about it. For example, there was this guy who had built a family home atop a residential building in downtown Belgrade! I kid you not!

There is no way the permit was denied on the basis of ethnicity. That is preposterous. There are dozens of Romanian churches across the Serbian northeast (especially in Banat) and one more church -- an Orthodox one, at that! --- wouldn't hurt anybody. For Christ's sake, Serbia (its taxpayers, actually) subsidizes every religion on its territory! And this is the thanks Serbia gets. Imagine if Serbia followed the example of the Western states and cut off all the financial support to the religious/cultural/ethnic/minority groups living in Serbia. I can't imagine what would happen.

Furthermore, "...such a requirement for them is unreasonable because nobody in the village was ever demanded to obtain such an approval for a private building, as it is usually the case in the countryside."

Now, if there's a need for a Romanian church in the village, I bet there's a large number/percentage of Romanians living there. Have they ever had a problem with the local zoning commission? The above paragraph says they have not. Case closed, as far as I am concerned.

Imagine if everybody started building whatever they wanted, wherever they wanted.

These people should learn to respect the laws of the country they live in and get over themselves. And not just the Romanians -- everybody who lives there! I am sick of these yahoos whining about having to respect the law.

Sure, you've got it good, and I'm glad for you. Bp. Basil is a bit of a hero of mine. I've got it great under Bp. Tikhon of the DOW in the OCA. I've met Bp. Longin of the Serbs, and he was one of the most remarkable men I have ever met in my life. But would you seriously want to depend on the average bishop in the US to guide the American church? Would you seriously want to depend on the American church to be able consistently to produce and promote to the episcopacy bishops of the caliber of Bp. Basil and Bp. Tikhon? Is Bp. Basil the most respected and influential bishop in the Antiochian Archdiocese, or is he forced to hide out in Wichita to protect his people? Is Bp. Tikhon the most respected and influential bishop in the OCA, or is he forced to hide out on the West Coast, keeping the more unpleasant trends in the OCA at bay?

Granted, I take a bit of a isolationist approach: I am at a pretty traditional and pretty isolated parish, and we have a very traditional priest that I hope we can keep for a long time, and that we will be able to find one equally traditional to replace him. I don't think that the powers that be on the coasts are really going to care what goes on out here in the boonies, and that we can be as traditionally Orthodox as we like, as long as we don't make waves. But do I have assurance that the OCA could deal us a priest at random from St. Vlads or St. Tikhon's and that we'd be happy with him? No.